DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake Bulldogs women's basketball team erased an eight-point deficit with just 1:47 remaining in the game against the No. 23/24 Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday afternoon at the Knapp Center in front of 3,130 fans, but the rally attempt fell just short as Iowa held on for a 100-98 win over Drake.
Drake (5-6) sophomore Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) drilled a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining to even the score at 98-98. After a timeout by Iowa (9-2), Hawkeyes senior guard Samantha Logic drove the length of the court and hit what proved to be the game winner over two defenders with three seconds left. Out of timeouts, the Bulldogs had one final chance as sophomore Caitlin Ingle (Runnells, Iowa) collected the inbounds pass and pushed the ball up court and had a good look from 35 feet that was on line, but short of the goal as the buzzer sounded.
Wendell finished with a career-high 43 points, including 10 points in the final 1:38 of the game. The 43 points are a Drake Knapp Center individual record in a women's basketball regulation game.
“I saw the defender coming, so I tried to get the ball down the floor as quickly as possible, and I didn't have enough to get it where I wanted it ideally, but I got a shot off,” said Ingle on her last second attempt.
“Today, this is a tough one, because we played obviously, a very good basketball team in Iowa, but I think you got to see who Drake is,” said Drake head coach Jennie Baranczyk. “This is a game where you hate to be sitting on this side of it, but I am so proud of the fact that the two people sitting next to me are sophomores (Ingle and Wendell) because that means we have a really bright future. I'm really proud of the fact that we ran out of timeouts and our kids knew what to do. Nothing slowed us down.”
Ingle posted her fourth career points/assists double-double with 17 points and 10 assists. Freshman Becca Jonas (Independence, Mo.) was the other Bulldogs to record double digits as she scored a career-high 19 points.
Iowa senior Melissa Dixon set a school record with 10 three-pointers as she scored a team-high 31 points. Logic and Ally Disterhoft each had 18 points, while Whitney Jennings and Bethany Doolittle added 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Ingle gave Drake its final lead with a short jumper in the paint that put the Bulldogs up 71-70 with 10:08 to play. Logic gave Iowa its largest lead of eight points, 90-82, with 1:47 remaining before Drake mounted its comeback attempt.
The 198 combined points scored between the teams is a record in the all-time series. The game featured 18 lead changes and six ties in the contest as Iowa has now won the last 13 games in the series. The two teams each made 13 three-pointers.
“It was fun and I just really wish we could have got the win,” said Wendell. “We can take everything we learned today and carry it forward.”
It was a back-and-forth first half that featured 15 lead changes as the teams combined for 16 three-pointers. The Bulldogs led 48-43 as Wendell paced all scorers with 20 points, including knocking down four three-pointers. Dixon finished with 18 points.
A basket by Liza Heap (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) off a great assist from Jonas gave the Bulldogs their first lead of 14-13, but the Hawkeyes quickly answered with a basket of their own.
“I loved our effort, I loved the 50/50 balls we got and I loved the way we rebounded and shared the ball,” commented Baranczyk on her squad that outrebounded Iowa, 42-32, and collected 19 assists with just 12 turnovers.
Drake starts Missouri Valley Conference action on Jan. 2 as it travels to the Windy City to play the Loyola Ramblers. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on 1350 KRNT.
“Now the next part of the season is conference play,” said Baranczyk. “We have to be able to start our conference schedule better than in past years.”
